Coleman revamps its athletic code

Published 9:00 pm, Monday, August 19, 2002

COLEMAN  Being an athlete in Coleman School District means more than skill in the field or on the court. It means following the code.

"If you're an athlete, you should be a leader," said Casey Zylman, 17. "Everyone else is watching you. You're a role model for other students."

Last year, about 10 students were disciplined by the code. The high school has 340 students, with at least 200 athletes. Now the athletic code has been revised and school officials hope when classes start Monday, it's fairer and easier to understand.

One major revision is the proximity rule. In the past, an athlete was punished if she or he were even at a party with alcohol and/or drugs.

"The kid would have to come in here and lie," said Coleman High School Principal Loren Partlo. "We've had some problems with the proximity thing."

"They're getting less of a punishment for being honest," Partlo continued. "But only for the first time."

If the student or parent tells a school official he or she was near illegal use of alcohol and/or drugs for the first time, the athlete remains on the team and is not disciplined. If the student does not disclose being near alcohol and/or drugs when in fact the student was, the student athlete sits out one game. The second time, the student sits out 10 percent of the remaining scheduled games. The student is disciplined under the more serious non-disclosure rules the third and subsequent times.

Student athletes also are not allowed to participate in any all-star, charity, exhibition football or 3-on-3 basketball games during the season. This rule is not new, but at least one student objects to it.

"It's really none of their business," said Casey Young, 17, a third-year varsity football player. "It's not hurting anybody."

Partlo explained this rule.

"It is because if they win money or awards, they lose their amateur status and we end up having to forfeit our league games because you have a player on there that is not amateur status," Partlo said.

The revised code also clearly defines who is an athlete  team managers, cheerleaders and active participants of any interscholastic sport sponsored or recognized by the school.

Zylman, for one, is in favor of the revised code.

"I think it's an improvement. I think its a lot better than the old one," Zylman said. "It makes it so people who are doing what they should be doing do not get in trouble.

"The old code said they were in trouble around alcohol and things like that. This one says if they're not doing it, they're OK."